Hershey’s Chocolate cake

As with much of my spur of the moment baking, this was the result of perusing Pinterest right after my kids went down for naps. I saw this amazing looking chocolate cake and had to have it. Now.

Perfect Chocolate Cake | Hottie Biscotti

As luck would have it I had all the ingredients (and you probably do, too!) which makes this a terrific cake to make at the last minute. I decided to make it around 2 in the afternoon and it was cooled and frosted and ready to consume by 5. Both the cake and the frosting come together so quickly. Making this cake was a great use of nap time. It was also a great way to take my mind off of the fact that my due date was going to come and go without meeting our new babe! If only chocolate cake induced labor…

I’ve had this cake before and remember asking who made it and if I could get the recipe. For some reason I was surprised to find out it was a Hershey’s recipe. I shouldn’t have been, I guess. The best oatmeal cookie recipe is found on the top of the Quaker oats container, after all! I didn’t use Hershey’s cocoa, though. I had just enough Guittard cocoa left, so that is what I used. The cake is moist and chocolatey and comforting, as chocolate cake should be. The frosting is sweet and rich yet light and not dense. I added a layer of crushed Oreos in between the layers of cake and also pressed some into the sides of the frosted cake and sprinkled some on top. It adds some nice texture both in appearance and in your mouth, but it also helps to disguise a sloppy frosting job…which mine definitely was.

You can make this in 9-inch cake pans, like I did, or in a 9×13 pan, 3 8-inch pans, a bundt pan, or you can make cupcakes. I can easily see this becoming my new go-to chocolate cake recipe.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl, mix together sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Add in oil, milk, eggs and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes.

Add in the boiling water and mix to combine. The batter will be very thin, and that’s ok!

Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing evenly, and bake for 30-35 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.

Let cool in the pans on wire racks for 15 minutes, then turn out onto the racks to let cool completely before frosting.

Frosting

Measure cocoa into a medium sized bowl. Melt butter and pour into the cocoa and whisk to combine.

Using a mixer, beat in powdered sugar and milk alternately in 5 batches (sugar, milk, sugar, milk, sugar). Add in more sugar if you want the frosting to be a little thicker. Stir in the vanilla.

Frost the cake, layering some of the Oreos in between the layers and press some onto the edges. Serve immediately or let chill in the fridge for an hour if your house is especially warm (like mine was!).